Winged Lion With Nebuchadnezzar and BabylonBible World
4:28Daniel 4:28
All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar.
All that had been foretold in the dream and the warning fell upon Nebuchadnezzar after he failed to humble himself and disregarded the light given him. Twelve months after the warning, while he was boasting of his own power and the greatness of Babylon, a voice from heaven declared his kingdom taken from him, and he was driven from human society to live with the beasts of the field. The calamity came because he went on in his own strength and ambition, exalting himself and taking the glory to himself while forgetting God. Through great suffering and humiliation he was brought to acknowledge the power and mercy of Israel's God, and he was converted and miraculously restored. His humbling stands as a warning not to trust in self and human wisdom or to disregard God's counsel, a lesson Belshazzar knew yet disregarded to his ruin.
Fulfillment of the Dream
All that had been threatened in the dream and in the warning came upon King Nebuchadnezzar when he failed to humble himself and disregarded the light given him. The verse marks the fulfillment of what was foretold, the judgment announced coming upon him in full. In that dream the lofty tree represented his greatness and prosperity, and the nations living under its shelter represented his rule over them.
Before this dream he had lost the holy impression made by the deliverance in the fiery furnace because he did not continue to walk in the light. He had been greatly honored by the revelation of what should be hereafter in the great image with Babylon as the head of gold and by the explanation given through Daniel, yet flattery led him and his counselors to exalt Babylon and to set up the golden image in the plain of Dura as an object of worship, placing the king before the people to be worshiped. He had once recognized Jehovah's favor and understood that earthly kingdoms would give way to God's everlasting kingdom, but he later lost sight of that purpose.
Twelve months after the warning, while boasting of his power and the greatness of Babylon and of his own capabilities, he heard a voice from heaven declaring his kingdom taken from him. God took away his wisdom and reason, and he was driven and banished from human society to associate with the beasts of the field. He boasted of his capabilities, though all human capabilities belong to God, lent in trust. After banishment he was converted and miraculously restored, brought through great suffering and humiliation to acknowledge the power and mercy of Israel's God and to recognize the living God as able to create and to destroy.
Pride and Its Warning
All that came upon Nebuchadnezzar came because, though warned, he went on in his own strength and ambition and will, exalting and magnifying himself and taking glory to his own name. He forgot God and glorified himself, cherishing proud thoughts and feelings, setting God aside and trusting in his own wisdom and self-reliance. In this he exercised a spirit of supremacy that invited the threatened humbling upon him.
The account stands as a warning not to trust in oneself or one's own wisdom nor to rely on human strength. It warns against disregarding God's counsel and pursuing self-directed plans, for turning away from the path God has set leads to loss of His restraint, guidance and prosperity. Neglecting His instruction brings judgment and forfeits the benefits obedience would have brought, and God tests those who disobey and forget Him and refuse to obey His law, so that unless they humble their hearts and confess their sins they receive the penalty of transgression. What was foretold came upon him precisely as a warning to remain faithful to the truth God has given.
What came upon the king comes upon a leader who brings into God's work principles God will not sustain or favor. That is to carry on His work, and the sanitarium and medical-missionary work, by human wisdom and by one's own devising instead of as God requires. It means claiming power over His heritage that He has not given, requiring everyone to understand and carry out one man's mind, and investigating and criticizing and condemning and discouraging workers unless they meet his ideas and favor. It includes making laws and pledges for the future, carrying a different banner, and diverting workers and means into work God never appointed. Eternal interest depends on a change of heart to humble the heart before God, keep the eye single to His glory, heed His reproofs and counsels, stay true to the solemn appointed work, and plan so as to give all others a chance to accomplish the work after the wisdom God gives them individually.
His humbling taught a lesson in humility that could have warned Belshazzar, for God had given Nebuchadnezzar dominion and glory, judged him for his pride, and brought him to acknowledge the power and mercy of Israel's God. Daniel recalled the sin followed by the fall as a warning about the consequences of sacrilege and contempt for sacred things. Belshazzar had great opportunities, knowledge of this punishment, and much light about the works and power of the living God, which ought to have been a lesson to him, but he disregarded them as if they had never occurred, repeated the sins of his grandfather, and dared to commit the crimes that brought God's judgments. The succeeding kings failed to profit by the experience, and in prosperity forgot God and ascribed honor and glory to human achievement, so the kingdom of Babylon passed away. He was condemned not alone for doing wickedly but for not availing himself of opportunities and capabilities to be right, showing that God will not condemn any in the judgment for honestly believing a lie but for neglecting opportunities to learn truth.
All human capabilities belong to God, lent in trust, and boasting of them as one's own brings danger of the same judgment, for God took away Nebuchadnezzar's reason because he boasted of his capabilities. Instead of thinking highly of self and patterning after Nebuchadnezzar, self must be denied and true excellence demonstrated by Christlikeness, meekness and lowliness, usefulness and love, by remaining faithful to the truth God has given.
All that had been foretold in the dream and the warning fell upon Nebuchadnezzar after he failed to humble himself and disregarded the light given him. Twelve months after the warning, while he was boasting of his own power and the greatness of Babylon, a voice from heaven declared his kingdom taken from him, and he was driven from human society to live with the beasts of the field. The calamity came because he went on in his own strength and ambition, exalting himself and taking the glory to himself while forgetting God. Through great suffering and humiliation he was brought to acknowledge the power and mercy of Israel's God, and he was converted and miraculously restored. His humbling stands as a warning not to trust in self and human wisdom or to disregard God's counsel, a lesson Belshazzar knew yet disregarded to his ruin.
Fulfillment of the Dream
All that had been threatened in the dream and in the warning came upon King Nebuchadnezzar when he failed to humble himself and disregarded the light given him. The verse marks the fulfillment of what was foretold, the judgment announced coming upon him in full. In that dream the lofty tree represented his greatness and prosperity, and the nations living under its shelter represented his rule over them.
Before this dream he had lost the holy impression made by the deliverance in the fiery furnace because he did not continue to walk in the light. He had been greatly honored by the revelation of what should be hereafter in the great image with Babylon as the head of gold and by the explanation given through Daniel, yet flattery led him and his counselors to exalt Babylon and to set up the golden image in the plain of Dura as an object of worship, placing the king before the people to be worshiped. He had once recognized Jehovah's favor and understood that earthly kingdoms would give way to God's everlasting kingdom, but he later lost sight of that purpose.
Twelve months after the warning, while boasting of his power and the greatness of Babylon and of his own capabilities, he heard a voice from heaven declaring his kingdom taken from him. God took away his wisdom and reason, and he was driven and banished from human society to associate with the beasts of the field. He boasted of his capabilities, though all human capabilities belong to God, lent in trust. After banishment he was converted and miraculously restored, brought through great suffering and humiliation to acknowledge the power and mercy of Israel's God and to recognize the living God as able to create and to destroy.
Pride and Its Warning
All that came upon Nebuchadnezzar came because, though warned, he went on in his own strength and ambition and will, exalting and magnifying himself and taking glory to his own name. He forgot God and glorified himself, cherishing proud thoughts and feelings, setting God aside and trusting in his own wisdom and self-reliance. In this he exercised a spirit of supremacy that invited the threatened humbling upon him.
The account stands as a warning not to trust in oneself or one's own wisdom nor to rely on human strength. It warns against disregarding God's counsel and pursuing self-directed plans, for turning away from the path God has set leads to loss of His restraint, guidance and prosperity. Neglecting His instruction brings judgment and forfeits the benefits obedience would have brought, and God tests those who disobey and forget Him and refuse to obey His law, so that unless they humble their hearts and confess their sins they receive the penalty of transgression. What was foretold came upon him precisely as a warning to remain faithful to the truth God has given.
What came upon the king comes upon a leader who brings into God's work principles God will not sustain or favor. That is to carry on His work, and the sanitarium and medical-missionary work, by human wisdom and by one's own devising instead of as God requires. It means claiming power over His heritage that He has not given, requiring everyone to understand and carry out one man's mind, and investigating and criticizing and condemning and discouraging workers unless they meet his ideas and favor. It includes making laws and pledges for the future, carrying a different banner, and diverting workers and means into work God never appointed. Eternal interest depends on a change of heart to humble the heart before God, keep the eye single to His glory, heed His reproofs and counsels, stay true to the solemn appointed work, and plan so as to give all others a chance to accomplish the work after the wisdom God gives them individually.
His humbling taught a lesson in humility that could have warned Belshazzar, for God had given Nebuchadnezzar dominion and glory, judged him for his pride, and brought him to acknowledge the power and mercy of Israel's God. Daniel recalled the sin followed by the fall as a warning about the consequences of sacrilege and contempt for sacred things. Belshazzar had great opportunities, knowledge of this punishment, and much light about the works and power of the living God, which ought to have been a lesson to him, but he disregarded them as if they had never occurred, repeated the sins of his grandfather, and dared to commit the crimes that brought God's judgments. The succeeding kings failed to profit by the experience, and in prosperity forgot God and ascribed honor and glory to human achievement, so the kingdom of Babylon passed away. He was condemned not alone for doing wickedly but for not availing himself of opportunities and capabilities to be right, showing that God will not condemn any in the judgment for honestly believing a lie but for neglecting opportunities to learn truth.
All human capabilities belong to God, lent in trust, and boasting of them as one's own brings danger of the same judgment, for God took away Nebuchadnezzar's reason because he boasted of his capabilities. Instead of thinking highly of self and patterning after Nebuchadnezzar, self must be denied and true excellence demonstrated by Christlikeness, meekness and lowliness, usefulness and love, by remaining faithful to the truth God has given.